Saturday, September 22, 2012

IGWRT's Mary's Mixed Bag "Seeking"

hinges squeak
in protest as slowly, heavily
I walk back
one step at a time.

pray a blessing
some day will come my way.

by Margaret Bednar 9.22.12

This is a beautiful gate from Biltmore Estates. A truly stunning place that was built by George Vanderbilt and completed in 1895. (If you click the link there is a short video of this "wonder". I took a tour of the 250 room home and they assure us the servants were well treated. But, the work and toil these women did was daunting to me .... my voice in this poem is of a young woman who, perhaps, dreams her lot in life was a bit different.

Grandfather mountain is a peak in the Pisgah mountain range, which Vanderbilt owned and sold to the Government and is now a National Forest. The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of my favorite places to visit.

18 comments:

I love the texture of your photo. It transports the imagination back to the time you write about, and it's heartening to know that the voice of an anonymous servant may be heard in the imagination today. It means they are not forgotten.

Our family spent many long weekends exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains way back in the late 60s. (We lived in DC) ... also one of my favorite places. For some reason, I can't really articulate, your poem brought tears to my eyes.

Palm a poem as if fragile even if the words are bold. Let them sink into your skin as if moonlight, let them flow through your veins until they become ordinary - for only then will we know they nourished.

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"What should I say about your tendency to doubt your struggle or to harmonize your inner and outer life? My wish is ever strong that you find enough patience within you and enough simplicity to have faith. May you gain more and more trust in what is challenging, and confidence in the solitude you bear. Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right in any case." (Rainer Maria Rilke) Furnborg, Jonsered, Sweden, November 4, 1904 Letters to a Young Poet